Proceeds from March 7 game to go towards National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

The New York Islanders are excited to announce that Long Island native Katie Beers will be at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday, March 7 when the Islanders take on the New York Rangers, to help raise awareness for NCMEC. The Islanders are partnering with NCMEC for the second straight season to support the organization. For each ticket sold, $2 will go directly to NCMEC. Islanders Owner Charles Wang has pledged to match the total from the $2 ticket donation and other fundraising events throughout the night.

Beers was abducted in 1992 and held captive in a Bay Shore, NY home where she was repeatedly abused both sexually and emotionally. She was nine-years old at the time. Organizations like NCMEC and televised programs such as America’s Most Wanted aim to heighten awareness of these incidents, and highlighted Beers’ disappearance until her discovery in early January 1993. Twenty years after the ordeal, she revisited the suppressed memories and released a new book, Buried Memories: Katie Beers’ Story, written with Carolyn Gusoff, chronicling her story of survival, memory and recovery.

“My abduction was a life shattering experience,” Beers said. “Ever since the abduction, I have done everything in my power to move past those awful memories, but know that I may never. With the efforts of the NCMEC and the New York Islanders, they are ensuring that stories like mine will become less frequent. I am honored to participate in this event and to have become a motivational speaker, helping bring awareness nationwide to a cause that will save lives and help protect children from the terrible situation I was once in.”

Beers will drop the ceremonial puck prior to the game. The Islanders will host various activities throughout the night in conjunction with the cause. Money raised from the Chuck-A-Puck intermission contest and 50/50 raffle will also go directly towards the NCMEC. Fans will have the opportunity to donate during the game on the concourse level and can also make $10 donations by texting SAFEKIDS to 20222 starting today.

NCMEC aims to combat the issue of missing and sexually exploited children and the significance of this should not be lost. An estimated 800,000 children are reported missing each year and incidents of sexual abuse are increasing, with a rising number of cases going unreported. Any additional attention these issues can draw is a necessity.

NCMEC mascot “Clicky” will join Sparky the Dragon and Islanders staff to collect donation and distribute safety information on the concourse. To generate added awareness, the center-ice video board will run numerous facts and public service announcements throughout the evening.

About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1984. Designated by Congress to serve as the nation’s clearinghouse, the organization has operated the toll-free 24-hour national missing children’s hotline, which has handled more than 3,472,740 calls. It has assisted law enforcement in the recovery of more than 169,840 children. The organization’s CyberTipline has handled more than 1,290,050 reports of child sexual exploitation and its Child Victim Identification Program has reviewed and analyzed more than 60,381,370 child pornography images and videos. The organization works in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Justice’s office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. To learn more about NCMEC, call its toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 1-800-THE-LOST or visit its web site at www.missingkids.com.
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